Senior Business Development Manager (Fintech/Payments)

Our client is a high-growth fintech company building the next generation of payment infrastructure across Africa . Their mission is to make money movement seamless, inclusive, and scalable across borders . They operate at the intersection of financial innovation and real-world impact , empowering businesses and consumers with tools to thrive in a rapidly digitizing economy.

Role Overview

As the Business Development Manager, you will be the primary driver of our client's outbound commercial growth across the African continent. This is a hunter role - you will be proactively identifying, pursuing, and closing high-value merchant and enterprise clients, while building strategic partnerships with financial institutions and key ecosystem players in the payments and fintech space.

This is not a reactive or account management position. They need someone who wakes up thinking about pipeline - relentless in outbound prospecting, disciplined in research, and rigorous in how they manage their sales process. You will work directly with the Head of Sales to execute their go-to-market strategy, collaborate closely with their Legal and Compliance team to navigate regulatory requirements, and ensure every qualified lead is handed over efficiently to the Onboarding team for a seamless client experience.

You will be expected to deeply understand the regulatory environments in our target markets, know the compliance landscape that our clients operate within, and use that knowledge as a commercial advantage - not a barrier.

Job Type: Full-time

Location: Cape Town

Workplace: Hybrid

Department: Sales

Reports To: Head of Sales

Requirements

• 4-6 years of outbound business development or B2B sales experience within Fintech, Payments, Banking, or a high-growth financial services company. You must be able to demonstrate a track record of building pipelines from scratch and closing deals - not just managing warm inbound leads.
• You are naturally driven to prospect. Cold outreach, building lists, finding the right contact, crafting a compelling message - this energises you. You do not wait for leads to come to you.
• Strong working knowledge of African payment corridors, cross-border FX mechanics, crypto/stablecoin rails, and B2B financial services. Experience selling into merchants, enterprises, or financial institutions is strongly preferred.
• A solid understanding of the regulatory environments relevant to payments and crypto across at least 2–3 African markets, including AML/CFT obligations, FX regulations, and licensing frameworks. You know enough to have conversations with compliance-conscious clients and flag risk early.
• You are highly disciplined in CRM usage and treat pipeline hygiene as a professional standard. Experience with HubSpot is a strong advantage - you should be comfortable with deal tracking, sequences, contact management, and pipeline reporting. CRM Discipline (HubSpot preferred)
• An existing network of senior decision-makers across merchants, financial institutions, or fintech companies in Africa. Warm relationships you can activate quickly are a significant plus.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills. Able to tailor messaging to different audiences - from CFOs and compliance officers to operations leads and product teams.
• Comfortable working closely with Legal, Compliance, and Onboarding teams. You understand that closing a deal is only the beginning and take responsibility for ensuring a smooth client handover and transition.
• A self-starter who operates with urgency and accountability. You are comfortable with ambiguity, build structure where there is none, and hold yourself to a high standard without being managed.

Responsibilities

Outbound Prospecting & Pipeline Ownership

• Drive high-volume, high-quality outbound prospecting across target verticals including B2B payments, cross-border remittances, crypto trading, and enterprise treasury solutions.
• Build and own your pipeline end-to-end - from cold outreach and first contact through to proposal, negotiation, and signed agreement.
• Develop targeted outreach sequences and account-based strategies for priority merchant and enterprise prospects.
• Consistently meet and exceed monthly outbound activity targets and quarterly revenue goals as set by the Head of Sales.
• Proactively source new leads through LinkedIn, industry events, referral networks, and direct outreach - not waiting for inbound interest

Prospect Research & Account Intelligence

• Conduct thorough research on target companies before any outreach - understanding their business model, payment needs, current providers, compliance posture, and decision-making structure.
• Build detailed account profiles and maintain up-to-date intelligence on key prospects within HubSpot.
• Identify the right stakeholders (C-suite, Finance, Operations, Treasury) and tailor your outreach and messaging accordingly.
• Stay current on industry news, funding rounds, and market developments to identify timely hooks for outbound engagement.
• Track competitor landscape, pricing movements, and product positioning to sharpen our value proposition.

Regulatory Awareness & Compliance Collaboration

• Develop and maintain a strong working knowledge of the regulatory environments in our client’s target markets, including AML/CFT frameworks, FX controls, crypto licensing requirements, and cross-border payment regulations.
• Work closely with the Legal and Compliance team throughout the sales process to ensure prospective clients meet our onboarding criteria and regulatory standards.
• Flag regulatory risks or compliance considerations early in the sales cycle to avoid wasted pipeline and protect the business.
• Engage with relevant regulators, industry bodies, and legal stakeholders where required to support market entry or partnership development.
• Use your regulatory knowledge as a commercial differentiator - helping prospects understand how our client navigates complexity on their behalf.

Lead Handover & Onboarding Support

• Ensure every qualified and closed lead is handed over to the Onboarding team in a structured, documented, and timely manner.
• Complete all required handover documentation within HubSpot, including client background, agreed terms, compliance notes, and key contacts.
• Act as the commercial bridge between the client and the Onboarding team during the initial setup phase to ensure a smooth transition and positive first impression.
• Follow up post-onboarding to confirm client satisfaction and identify early upsell or referral opportunities.

CRM Discipline & HubSpot Hygiene

• Maintain meticulous, real-time records of all prospecting activity, client interactions, pipeline stages, and deal progression in HubSpot.
• Ensure every contact, company, and deal record is accurately populated, tagged, and up to date at all times.
• Use HubSpot sequences, tasks, and deal workflows to manage your outreach cadence and follow-up discipline rigorously.
• Provide the Head of Sales with accurate weekly pipeline reports and forecasts derived directly from HubSpot data.
• Treat CRM hygiene as a non-negotiable professional standard.

Future Growth

• Build and mentor a high-performing business development team as the company scales.
• Play an advisory role in shaping our client’s commercial strategy, pricing model, and go-to-market playbook.
• Act as an internal advocate for market needs to influence product development and operational improvements.

Benefits

• Mission-Driven Work: The opportunity to work on solving cross-boarder payments in Africa. Connecting us to the world, and the world to us.
• Competitive Compensation: A salary package and incentive structure that reflects your experience, impact, and the market rate, including performance-based commission.
• High Impact Role: Direct access to and collaboration with the founding team, with a clear pathway to a leadership position as the business scales.
• Dynamic Environment: A fast-paced, ambitious team at the frontier of African fintech - no bureaucracy, no red tape, just execution.